Deion Sanders renews acquaintances with Joe Nuxhall. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Should Cincinnati's simmering racial tensions again erupt in violence, expect Deion Sanders to step forward in the community as he has done in his return to the Reds.

        “I would do whatever I can to prevent anything from going on,” Sanders said Wednesday. “If everything comes to force like it did last time, I will address the situation.”

        Sanders said he discussed the turmoil in Cincinnati with his agent, Eugene Parker, and local attorney Ken Lawson. “I wish I would have been here (at the time of the unrest),” said Sanders, who was playing with the Reds' Triple-A Louisville affiliate when riots broke out here after the fatal shooting of unarmed 19-year-old Timothy Thomas.

        Sanders said he'd want to try to accomplish more than a superficial purpose if he were to speak to fellow African-Americans: “I don't want to focus on the persons who are forcing the situa tion. I want to focus on the problem. In our city. In our country. In our society.”

        Sanders said his personal experience enabled him to relate to the unrest stemming from Thomas' shooting. On Aug.8, 1994, he was arrested on four misdemeanor charges — resisting arrest, driving without a license, failure to comply and leaving the scene of an accident — as he left a Reds game on his scooter. Police said the officer who tried to stop Sanders, Herb Kohus, was dragged 30 feet. Sanders was found not guilty the following May.

        “You have to understand, on a smaller scale, I was in the same situation,” Sanders said. “But I let justice overcome all that.”

        One day after commanding the major-league spotlight by going 3-for-3 with a three-run homer, Sanders went 0-for-4 in Wednesday's 7-3 Reds loss.

        The paid crowd of 21,323 included about 3,800 walk-up admissions. Sanders continued to draw rousing applause. He said before the game he remained moved by the reaction of the Cinergy Field fans Tuesday.

        He went so far as to call it the greatest moment of his sports career, surpassing even the Super Bowl victories he participated in with the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys.

        “I've never felt (appreciated) like that in my life,” Sanders said. “I've always felt like a jukebox. ... "You play what I push, you do what I want.' And if I don't play the record they want me to play, they're upset and they're kicking the box. That's what I felt like my whole career. "You're supposed to do this. You're supposed to do that.'”

        Sanders returned the warmth Reds fans heaped upon him.

        “I think these fans have a lot in them,” he said. “No one gives them credit. They may not come like everyone would wish. But I think if you put a winning product out there, like we're putting on the field, they'll show up. And when they show up, I think they'll show out, as far as yelling and screaming.”

        Sanders also likes the revamped Cinergy Field: “It's a different park. I didn't even feel like I was in the same park I was in previously. This is a great pit stop (until Great American Ball Park opens).”

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